Program supporting STEM students to expand to 6 additional colleges

October 10, 2017 by SBCTC Communications

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) today
announced that six more colleges will now offer MESA — a program that helps students
of color and women transfer to universities for STEM-related degrees and careers.

igkbet娱乐官网MESA serves students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields, including
African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, Pacific Islanders and women.

Most MESA students are the first in their families to attend college, are low-income,
and have not been exposed to STEM curricula and career choices. MESA provides these
students tutoring and mentoring, extra study sessions, transfer counseling and study
centers to help them succeed in math and science before they transfer for further
study.

igkbet娱乐官网“MESA exposes smart, hard-working students to the world of opportunity in STEM industries
and helps them get there,” said Jan Yoshiwara, SBCTC executive director.

The six colleges will each receive $125,000 annually for the MESA program. Six other
Washington community colleges already offer MESA, bringing the total to 12 of the
state’s 34 community and technical colleges. The program is already offered at Olympic
College, Edmonds Community College, Seattle Central College, Highline College, Yakima
Valley College and Columbia Basin College.

Research by SBCTC shows that colleges offering MESA have greater diversity among graduates with Associate
of Science-Transfer degrees.

igkbet娱乐官网Michael Schultzer, CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association, credited
the Legislature for expanding MESA. "The diversity gap is real in our tech community,"
he said. "In order to secure the brightest minds, tech companies need to draw from
a deeper, more diverse talent pool.”

igkbet娱乐官网According to , Washington will have 160,000 STEM-related job openings by 2020 but too few graduates
with STEM-related certificates and degrees.

igkbet娱乐官网The report found that, while most STEM jobs are related to computing occupations,
the demand for STEM talent reaches into other economic sectors of Washington as well.
Examples include food production in Central Washington, hospitals in Spokane and engineering
in the Tri-Cities.